


Tea With Time

by PrismalMelonMan



Series: Second Chances [5]
Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: Awkward Romance, Crushes, Denial, Fluff, Mutual Pining, Not Actually Unrequited Love, Rich history, clockwork experiences a micro agression, clockwork is blind in one eye, technical first date
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-25
Updated: 2019-11-25
Packaged: 2021-02-26 02:06:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,061
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21555958
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PrismalMelonMan/pseuds/PrismalMelonMan
Summary: Clockwork comes by for another visit and is curious about human customs, so Vlad brings him to a bakery.https://prismalpremier.tumblr.com/
Relationships: Clockwork & Danny Fenton, Clockwork & Sam Manson, Clockwork & Tucker Foley, Clockwork/Vlad Masters, Danny Fenton & Sam Manson, Danny Fenton & Tucker Foley, Danny Fenton & Tucker Foley & Sam Manson, Tucker Foley & Sam Manson, Vlad Masters & Danny Fenton, Vlad Masters & Sam Manson, Vlad Masters & Tucker Foley
Series: Second Chances [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1547047
Comments: 10
Kudos: 61





	Tea With Time

“Oh, _Vladimir,_ Clockwork announced his presence this time, per Vlad’s request, but he was met with only silence, and the deep, resonant ticking of a grandfather clock, who’s ticks could lull a man—specifically Vlad—to sleep, hidden in some room within the mansion.

“Vlad?” He asked again. Nothing. “Hm, curious.”

Vlad again, did not answer, but that was because he was sleeping in for once. The day before, he’d come clean about everything, or well, _nearly_ everything. All but the being a ghost thing. Danny knew that he was Vlad’s son now, and so did Jack. He’d slept soundly, fully, for the first time in ages. He’d gone to bed the night before feeling happy, especially after having spoken to Danny privately. Danny’d assured him that he wasn’t mad, and that he was glad that Vlad was trying to be better.

About an hour after Clockwork’s arrival is when Vlad woke up. Vlad rolled out of bed, makeup still smeared to Hell and back, crumpled green and black satin pajamas, and his long hair tangled on the side of his head.

 _He really_ had _slept well_ , Clockwork thought.

“Good…” He checked one of his watches, “afternoon.”

“What are you doing here? How long have you been here? And did you say afternoon?”

“I’m here to congratulate you; I’ve been here only about an hour; and yes, it is…12:30 PM here. At least, I’m pretty sure this is the clock I’ve set to Amity’s time.”

Vlad put on a pot of coffee and stared at the Time Master quizzically.

“Fine, I’ll check a _digital_ clock.” Clockwork murmured to himself, having forgotten which of the 6 _analog_ watches on his arms was set to Amity. He looked at Vlad’s microwave clock. “Oh, I was right.”

“Wouldn’t you always be right, being able to control Time and such?

“I suppose, but I’m not going to change the world’s time just to fit my estimation of what the time is. That would be abusing my powers, and the Observants would have my head for that.”

“So, is visiting some random old guy in a random city not abusing those powers?”

“First of all, you’re not random. Secondly, you’re not old. Thirdly, Amity isn’t all that random, because the ghosts constantly appear here. And finally, the Observants don’t really care what I do, as long as it isn’t using my powers for personal reasons.”

“So, your visiting me is _completely_ impersonal?”

“Now, I didn’t say that.”

“Anyway, besides dropping in to say, ‘good job’, why are you here?”

“Just wanted to visit. Nothing vastly important is happening in the Timestream, no random futures that need to be eradicated because something unexpected happened in certain times, so I decided to pay a visit.”

“Well, my house isn’t very interesting.”

“Well, I’d disagree, but that’s because I haven’t been in it before. Also, do you get weekends off your mayoral duties?”

“Not usually. I have an assistant, but I hardly ever make her work overtime, and she can basically take as much time off as she needs, since I usually work until late, as I don’t have much besides my cat to come home to.”

At that note, the very round cat in question came waddling out with a meow.

“Hello, there.” Clockwork greeted the cat.

Vlad smiled, amused. “You like cats?”

“I love animals. They have such short lives, and yet being with an animal enriches a person’s life to the fullest, and so it feels like the animal’s life was long. And this goes with wild animals, too. They always must survive, yes, but they _live_ , too. You can see it in how fledgling birds are learning how to fly, how lion’s cubs play, how deer share the most soft, intimate of moments with each other and their young. Animals are beautiful creatures, Vladimir.”

Vlad smiled. “Yes, I suppose that’s right. I’d never thought about it that way."

“Of course, I enjoy humans, too. They’re so complicated. The choices they make. Moral dilemmas, reasons for violence. Honestly, in the last few hundred years, the Ghost Zone has been filling up with ghosts who were killed in battle. They miss their families, some. Others are filled with a disgusting hatred and their unfinished business is the culmination of that hatred, but they’re stuck in a cycle, their business will never be over, and they’ll grow more monstrous as the ages go on. It’s a little heartbreaking, really. Only now, have I ever thought to interfere with someone’s journey down the path of being consumed with hatred and malice.”

“Me.”

“Yes.”

“Anyway, as I was saying about the duties of you being mayor and having today off, I was curious if you could introduce me to some more human culture. While yes, I know that humans have many cultures, what is the local kind, here in Amity. Like best food.”

“Do ghosts need to eat?”

“No. But I’d like to try some actual food. Don’t get me wrong, ghost food…exists. But It’s a little flavorless, and as someone who’s never had human food, that’s saying something.

“Well then, let me get ready. It should only take about a half an hour.”

“Mind if I explore a bit?”

“No, not like there’s anything all that super interesting here.”

“Again, I’d beg to differ.”

Vlad shrugged and went back to his room to take a quick shower and get dressed.

Clockwork perused the house, checking out the various rooms. A dusty room full of weights and things, unused living rooms, a room fit for a lavish party, a big fancy library, and finally, the room Clockwork was looking for: a quaint little study, fit with a desk, a few small bookshelves, and the towering grandfather clock. Clockwork smiled. It was beautiful: expertly cut and sculpted, the rococo style wooden casing was a deep chestnut brown, the pendulum had impressions in the metal made of gold and silver. The Minute, Second, and Hour hands were bronze, and the moon cycle disk, sitting above the clock face, signifying a full moon tonight, had a serenely smiling moon sitting in the center of the top of the clock. Clockwork could have been lost for hours, just staring at and evaluating the craftsmanship of this clock. Even now, he itched to see the inner workings of the clock, aptly named the clockworks. He smiled to himself.

Vlad eventually found him. “I should have known you’d find her.”

“Yes, you should have.” Clockwork agreed. “This is beautiful.”

Vlad nodded and started tying his hair up and putting in grey bobby pins to hold the fly-away hairs in place.

“I like your hair down.” Clockwork said.

“Thanks, but society isn’t too fond of men with long hair that isn’t put up in some way.”

“Well, that’s just stupid.”

“I agree, but oh well.”

There was a beat of silence.

“You can’t go out like that.” Vlad commented.

“Like what?”

“Ghostly.”

“Oh, yes. Give me a moment.” Clockwork changed his form into a more human-looking one. His skin was a honey-brown that contrasted nicely with his stark-white hair. The scar over his eye remained the same, albeit more attuned to his disguise. And, unlike Vlad, his “human” form was merely a disguise, he was not actually human. His eyes were different, too. Red irises remained, but white sclerae and black pupils pinpricked his eyes. The left eye, the one with a scar over it was clouded. Blind. Vlad wondered if that eye was cloudy in Clockwork’s ghost form, too, and he just hadn’t noticed it.

“The blind eye sees the most, you know.” Clockwork said calmly.

Vlad, upon realizing that he was staring, looked away. “Sorry.”

“Oh, don’t apologize, it’s quite alright.”

“What did you mean by that, though?”

“This eye is blind, by human standards, I cannot see _you_ standing in front of me if I close my right eye, but I can… _see Time_. I guess that’s the only way to say it. I can see the few small timelines of how…say…or what destination we’ll go to for me trying food. I can see the timelines, I guess.”

“That’s fascinating. And what about your Ghost form?”

“Kind of the same, but I see Time in both eyes while perceiving things directly in the not-scarred eye.”

“That’s really neat.”

“I’m glad you think so. Now where should we go?”

“Well, most popular restaurant is the Nasty Burger…but eh.”

“In one timeline, one long dead now, Danny’s family was killed by an explosion at the Nasty Burger.”

“Oh my.”

“What’s your personal favorite place to go?”

“It’s called _the Rendezvous_ ; it’s a little bakery. They sell pastries and sweets and muffins, scones, cupcakes.”

 _Vlad has a sweet tooth_ , Clockwork noted in his mind.

“And I’ve got to say, I think you need a change of clothes, at least for the Human World.

“What’s wrong with what I’m wearing?” He asked, still in his tunic and cloak. Thankfully, he added comfortable pants that went along with the tunic for his human form.

“You’re in luck because next door to the bakery, there’s a clothing boutique.”

“You’re buying me clothes, now?”

“Oh, hush. I’m only doing it because if you’re gonna start visiting, you need more modern clothes.”

“Well, you’re very kind.”

Upon arriving at the bakery, Vlad picked a nice little table outside, perfect for the mildly chilly autumn air. “So, what do you want to eat?”

“I’m willing to try anything. I’ve never had pastries before.”

“Then, a perfect starting point: a blueberry scone.”

“Hmm. Sounds nice.”

Vlad went inside to order tea and pastries. While he was inside, Clockwork sat in his little chair, looking around the street. People gave him weird looks, and tried to hide it, when they walked past the cloaked half-blind man with a scar over his eye.

_Some humans are incredibly rude._

Vlad came back out with the Earl Grey tea. “They’ll bring the pastries out soon.” He then noticed the sour look on Clockwork’s face. “Everything alright?”

“I know humans can be petty and stuff, but do they not notice that I am aware of my appearance, and know that I don’t look like ‘normal’ human? I’m not even human. Besides, I can’t control what my human form looks like, aside from clothes and hairstyle.”

Vlad frowned. “Yeah. People can be like that sometimes. Honestly, it’s stupid. The concept of _normal_ shouldn’t even exist, since no two _creatures_ are the same.”

“Ah well, humans will be humans, I guess.”

“You’ve got that right.” He raised his tea in a small toast, and Clockwork’s cut met in the middle. The two shared a small laugh, and each sipped from their drinks.

Danny was walking down the street with his friends and saw the not-couple. “Hey, frootloop.”

“Danny, what a coincidence.” Vlad greeted.

“Oh hey, CW.” Danny smiled.

“Hello,” Clockwork responded with a smile. Already, the two’s dynamic was shifting. They were more friendly, even after just a day. The worker at the bakery brought out the scones, and Vlad tipped them directly, because food service laws in America suck.

“So, what are the two of you up to?” Danny asked with mischief in his voice.

“Vlad here is introducing me to modern human customs.”

“Ah, I see.”

“We’re going shopping next.” Vlad said.

“A nice first date.” Danny said. Tucker and Sam giggled behind Danny at seeing Vlad’s reaction.

Vlad Masters, a usually suave man, got red as a tomato, and _extremely_ flustered at Danny’s comment. “I-It’s _not_ a _date_ , Daniel. He helped me, and so I am helping him in return. Honestly, nothing romantic going on at all.”

“Doubt,” the three teenagers said, all simultaneously.

Clockwork chuckled. It was cute seeing Vlad getting this flustered. But he also wondered: was his crush unrequited? He shook the thought from his mind and went back to his tea and scone.

“The scone is delicious, by the way.” Clockwork said.

“I’m glad you think so.”

“We’re headed to the actual mall, so see ya, frootloop.” Danny said with a wave.

“Goodbye, Badger.”

“I’ll see you at a later time, Danny.”

Vlad spent the rest of the time eating his own scone and tea in silence. What he didn’t notice was how much he was staring at Clockwork’s smile.

“So, shall we head next door?” Clockwork asked. 

**Author's Note:**

> So this one's out a little late because my phone broke and I had to rewrite the whole thing on my computer, but I like how it turned out anyway. Thank you for all the support on Second Chances!!!


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